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A Study in Contrasts
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 11, 2008  |  11 comments

Contrast: The ratio between the brightest part of the picture and the darkest.

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A Tale of Power Loss and Surge Protection
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 24, 2017  |  5 comments
Surge protectors, and even UPSs (Uninterupptible Power Supplies), are a good idea, but they’re no panacea. Here's why...
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A Tale of Two SVS Subwoofers
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 04, 2021  |  4 comments
David Vaughn’s 2019 review of the SVS SB-3000 sealed subwoofer inspired me to request a pair of SB-3000s for a feature article on finding the best locations for dual subs. But because my listening space is open to much of house I had the urge to experiment with two larger, ported subs, so I pitted two SB-3000’s against a pair of PB-3000’s to see how they would hold-up against their big brothers.
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Adventures in Speakerland
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 09, 2009  |  3 comments

As I browsed through the latest issue of <I>Stereophile</I> during a late afternoon lunch break, the waiter who brought my soup glanced at an advertisement.

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After You've Gone
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 06, 2008  |  First Published: Mar 07, 2008  |  9 comments

So now we have a single HD disc format. Hallelujah. No more excuses for sitting on the fence. No more "my upconverted DVDs look almost like high definition" claptrap. The clouds will part, angelic choirs will sing, and…oops, wrong blog.

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All About That Bass: Subwoofer Secrets 2017
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 21, 2017  |  3 comments
I was midway through a long delayed reorganization, riffling through piles of as yet to be filed home- and work-related stuff. As anyone can tell you, when you start to clear out documents and publications you haven’t seen in years you’re constantly tempted to stop and re-read much of it, which inevitably brings the entire process to a screeching halt.

Rather than keep entire audio-video magazines beyond about three years (the growth of the Internet is making even that a dubious practice), I tend to tear out articles that might be of value in the future. That was how I came across an article I hadn’t seen in 22 years. Titled “Subwoofer Secrets” (the inspiration for the name of this blog) and penned by the late Tom Nousaine, it had been published in the January 1995 issue of Stereo Review, the latter a distant godfather of Sound & Vision.

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All I Want For Christmas
Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 24, 2008  |  7 comments

A small but vocal segment of the video business, and of video enthusiasts, believes that HD on a disc&#151;that is, Blu-ray&#151;is merely a stopgap. Soon, they are certain, we will all get our HD movie fix via Internet downloads.

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An Elite to Top Them All?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 09, 2011  |  3 comments
The trademarked Elite name is still used by its owner, Pioneer, for a variety of products. But the company dropped its video-display business over two years ago. At that time, the Elite Kuro plasmas were widely considered, by us and many others, to be the best HDTVs available. Though they are no longer made, many observers still consider those last Pioneer Kuros better than any flat panel HDTV you can buy today.
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An Inside Look at Sony’s Latest TV Technology
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 07, 2018  |  3 comments
Last week Sound & Vision editor Al Griffin wrote on this site about Sony’s recent New York event. The subject was the launching of the company’s new Master Series flagship televisions, the new A9F OLEDs (in 55- and 65-inch sizes) and Z9F LCDs (65- and 75-inches). The event was held in a venue that in its past life was an exclusive dinner theater from 1938 to 1951, fell into disrepair in the following decades, and was remodeled in 2013. Since then it has been contracted to Sony, renamed Sony Hall, and used for a variety of theatrical and business events.
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Analog vs. Digital Connections
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 28, 2011  |  0 comments
When I read Stephen Beney's questions regarding the best way to connect his Oppo BDP-95 player to his Denon AVR-4308CI receiver and Scott Wilkinson's reply, I thought Scott's advice was good. But there are some other points I want to make about how to hook up that player for the best audio results—points that could apply to any universal disc player with claims of superior audio quality.
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Animation: The Sequel
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 03, 2023  |  8 comments
I've written about animated films before, but there are always new ones to discover, as well as older titles to revisit. To beat a live horse yet again (Maximus in Tangled, for example, not Maximus in Gladiator) I continue to be disappointed that adult friends, when visiting for a movie night, reject out of hand any suggested animated titles. Some, I suspect, haven't seen an animated movie since they were 12, an age at which they abandoned anything they considered to be childish diversions beneath their newfound sophistication. But just as live action films can offer things that animated titles cannot, the reverse is certainly true. Here are six more of my favorite animated movies.
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Are We Ready for Movie Theaters to Reopen?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 02, 2020  |  10 comments
It’s only been two months since I last opined on this topic, but things are never static in these interesting times. The subject of the survival of movie theaters, important not only to the movie industry but to the home video market as well, continues to evolve. Both industries, for better or worse, are dependent on the on the health of the film industry.

Some folks believe that the market for streamed movies will compensate for any permanent closing of theaters.

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Are Your Ready to Build Your Own Loudspeakers?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 23, 2021  |  3 comments
Building your own speakers from scratch Is an activity I've written about before. But that first blog is now accessible only by delving deeply into our Wayback Time Machine, so a revisit to this intriguing audio subculture is worth a follow-up here. Read on to find out if you have what it takes to take on a DIY speaker project.
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Atmos Musings and Shelf Life
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 19, 2015  |  2 comments
A bit of an eclectic mix this time around with two topics, the first somewhat controversial, the second a useful (I hope) tip.

Elsewhere on this site, and in our June Q&A column, we recommended using the same amplifier power for the front, surround and height speakers in an Atmos setup. I don’t entirely agree, though my personal experience with Atmos is limited so far to trade demos and theatrical presentations. Most Atmos-ready AVRs will, of course, have matched power—that’s just the nature of the beasts. But if you have a pre-pro and, say, 200Wpc amps driving the front speakers, do you really need 200Wpc on the other six (for 5.1.4 Atmos) “full range” surround and height channels?

One consideration here is the sensitivity of the surround and height speakers...

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Audio Grins
Tom Norton  |  Mar 28, 2023  |  4 comments
Cartoon by Charles Rodrigues.

In a flash of inspiration last week I decided it was time to sort through the mass of paperwork squirrelled away in my office. That’s when I discovered a long-forgotten folder labeled “Humor”…

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